Nov. 16, 2012
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The No. 15 Ohio State Buckeyes topped the No. 21 Boilermaker volleyball team 3-0 on Belin Court Friday night to even the season series. Ohio State won the match 25-19, 29-27, 25-11. Purdue looks to rebound when they face off with No. 2 Penn State in Mackey Arena for Operation 14K at 7 p.m. Saturday.
Senior Ariel Turner posted a 16-kill, 11-dig double-double to lead the Boilermaker effort. Turner took 47 swings in the match, boosting her career tally to 5,254 and making her Purdue's all-time career leader in hitting attempts. (Danita Merlau owned the record coming into the evening, having posted 5,257 total attempts from 2005-08.)
Redshirt junior Catherine Rebarchak added nine kills and sophomore Kiki Jones chipped in seven, but the Boilermakers could not overcome a .352 hitting effort by the Buckeyes.
Defensively, redshirt junior Carly Cramer led the way with 14 digs as Purdue out-dug Ohio State 43-42. Turner added 11 digs to the tally.
Both teams hit well in Set 1 with OSU boasting a .414 to .312 edge in a 25-19 win. Turner had six kills in 10 swings to lead the Boilermakers, which jumped out to a 10-3 lead to start the stanza. Rebarchak had three kills in the first four points of the set and Cramer added an aces. Jones chipped in three putaways as Purdue took the seven point lead. Ohio State turned the tables and came charging back with six of the next seven points to narrow the gap to two at 11-9. Kills by Turner and Rebarchak made it 13-9, but the Buckeyes rattled off eight of the next 10 to go up 17-15 and take a lead they would not relinquish. OSU went up by four at 20-16 and held Purdue at bay the rest of the set.
Turner put down seven kills in the 29-27 second set, which featured a Boilermaker comeback and saw Purdue hold off eight OSU set point chances. The Boilermakers took the early lead, going up 6-2, including two Turner putaways and an ace by freshman Amanda Neill. Ohio State rallied to take a 10-8 advantage. A Buckeye service error and a kill by Rebarchak knotted it at 10, but Ohio State pushed ahead 18-13. A pair of kills by Jones and an OSU hitting error pulled Purdue within three at 19-16. The Buckeyes scored five of the next eight to go up 24-19, but the Boilermakers would not go down quietly. A Turner kill kicked off a 5-0 Purdue rally, which tied the score at 24. A trio of OSU miscues and another Turner putaway capped the run. The teams traded points over the next six serves with Turner and Jones keeping Purdue it in by turning away OSU set-point attempts. Kills by Mari Hole and Amanda Peterson finally ended the stanza at 29-27 for the Buckeyes.
Ohio State led Set 3 from start to finish en route to the 25-11 win. A pair of aces dotted the Buckeyes set-opening 10-2 run, during which Purdue burned both of its timeouts. Kills by Rebarchak and Turner and a solo stuff by Jones gave the Boilermakers new life after the second break. OSU scored seven straight to turn the 10-5 score into a 17-5 advantage. The teams split the next 10 points with senior Anna Drewry, Rebarchak and freshman Annie Drews earning kills for Purdue to help the score to 22-10, but Ohio State capped the match with a 4-1 run. The Boilermakers hit just .107 in the final set, while the Buckeye offense hit at a .538 clip, making just one error.
The No. 21 Boilermakers return to action at 7 p.m. Saturday when they take on No. 2 Penn State in Mackey Arena. The alumnae night match has been designated as Operation 14K, where they Boilermakers hope to fill Mackey and break the program's single-match attendance record of 10,645. Tickets are still available for $2 for upper bowl tickets and $5 for lower bowl seats.